Most previous glove box door handles and latch mechanisms comprise a complex design with a large number of latching components, which result in undesirable design complexity and high manufacturing costs. The large number of components increase the risk of part failure.
Furthermore, most glove box door handles, when pulled by a human operator, facilitate the opening and closing of the latch mechanism by rotating around a fixed pivot point. One of the most economical methods of achieving this functionality is to directly and integrally connect the door handle to a pivotal axle, which freely rotates relative to the rest of the glove box latch mechanism. However, because the rotating axle is necessarily straight, the upper edge of the glove box handle must also be straight since they are directly and integrally connected. If the upper edge of the handle were not straight, movement of the handle would interfere with the trim face plate that normally surrounds the outer edges of the latching assembly to make its integration with the glove box door aesthetically pleasing. Thus, the prior art design limits the aesthetic styling of the glove box door.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a vehicle glove box door and latching mechanism with a minimal number of parts, which is economical to produce, and which permits a wide range of aesthetic design flexibility while maintaining structural integrity.